Roasting-furnace.



Inventor:

2 sheets--shet 2' Patented la". 287

w. A. LORENZ.

RUASTING FURNACE.

(Application le'd July 8. 190L`1 TM: Mbna {No Model) I Wma-esse" UNrTEDSTATES rPATENT OFFICE.

VILLIAM A. LORENZ, OF HARTFORD,CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO LANYON ZINCCOMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF NEW JERSEY.

ROASTlNG-FURNACE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 691,787, dated January28, 1902.

Application filed July 8, 1901. Serial No. 67,393. (No modela To a/ZZwhom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. LORENZ, a citizen of the United States ofAmerica, and a resident of Hartford, in the coun-ty of vHartford andState of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvementsin Roasting-Furnaces, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to ore-roasting fur- Io naces,'and has for oneofits objects an improved construction of the structural work of thefurnace, the roof of which is made in sections, each of which isindividually supported by cross-beams, which in turn may be supported bythe walls or by vertical posts or standards, the latter being adapted toserve at the same time as a means for bracing or stiifening the sidewalls of the' furnace.

My invention has, furthermore, for its ob- 2o ject the provision, incombination with a roasting-furnace having a hearth substantially asabove described, of a stirrer mechanism the operating-arm of whichprojects through a longitudinal slot formed in the roof and incommunication with the interior of the hearth, near the floor thereof,so that heat and draft in the hearth may be concentrated near the higherportion of the roof.

My invention has, furthermore, for its ob- 3o ject the provision ofmeans whereby the escape of heat from the hearth through the slot may beprevented, thesemeans consisting, substantially, of an air-supplywhereby-the upward tendency of the heat to escape through the Vslot maynot only be counteracted, but whereby, furthermore, air may be supplied-to the interior of Ithe hearth to increase the combustion.

In the accompanying drawings, in which 4o similar characters denotesimilar parts, Figure 1 represents a top view of a furnace built inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a side view thereof. Fig. 3 is asection on line 3 3, Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a section of a portion of afurnace and on an enlarged scale, illustrating in detail some of thefeatures of my invention; and Fig. 5 is a modification of theroof-supporting structure, as will be hereinafter described. 5o As hasabove been stated, my invention relates particularly to ore-roastingfurnaces in which metal ores in more or less granulated form laresubjected tothe action of heat, to be calcined thereby. f

The ore-roasting furnace forming the sub- 5; ject-of my presentinvention and illustrated iu the accompanyingy drawings comprises ahearth A A, having a tioor 10, side walls 11, and roof 12, the latterbeing made in multiplearch form or in sections, each of which has theform of an arch, as is clearly shown in Fig. 3. These arches aredisposed longitudinally of the hearth, the lowest portions of thesearches at their outer edges resting upon the sides of the hearth. Attheir inner edges they nearly meet at the longitudinal center of thehearth. The intermediate higher portions of the arches are remote fromthe longitudinal central portion of the hearth. At these higher portionsthe greatest amount of 7o heat concentrates, and the products ofcombustion rise at these centers and move longitudinally of the hearth.Thehearth of the furnace is supported in the present instance by apluralityof horizontal and laterally-disposed I-beams 13, which in turnrest upon uprights 14, while the side walls 11- may be braced orstift'eued bya series of vertical posts or standards 15, so that in theconstructionshown the furnace is entirely surrounded by 8o the open air.f l Means are provided whereby the roof 1 may be supported and thestrain inherent to the formation ot the arches may be entirely removedfrom the side walls in such amanner that the arches or sections ofwhichthe roof is composed are practically suspended from above, these meansconsisting, substantially, of horizontal or cross beams 16, resting withtheir outer ends upon the side walls 11, 9o

while near their inner ends they are attached to vertical members 17,which in turnare secured to horizontal beams or girders y18, restinguponthe posts or standards 15 above mentioned.

Inasmuch as the construction of the arches will as a matter of coursetend to throw a greater or less strain upon the end portions thereof, Iprovide near the outer ends vof said arches channel-irons, such as Y19,which are roo firmly secured to the cross-beams 16, while near theirjunction key members 2O are also rigidly secured, so that in this mannereach roof-section is supported independently from the cross-beam 16,leaving a space between the members 20.

In Fig. 5 I have illustrated a modification of a roof-supportingstructure, which in this instance shows the vertical post or standard 15resting upon a suitable foundation 50, which may be either a Wallrunning the entire length of the furnace or which, bclow the iioor ofthe hearth, may be in the form of piers. In this instance the roof 12 isentirely supported and carried by a framework comprising the beams15,16, 17, and 18 and merely rests upon the side walls 50, while byvirtue of this construction each of the arches is supportedindependently lof the other, the side thrust thereof being taken by themember 2O and at its opposite end by the channel-beam 19, both of whichare firmly secured to the cross-beam 16, as above described. It will nowbe seen that if the horizontal beam 18 extends across the furnace andrests on the uprights 15 and that if the cross-beam 16 in turn issupported from the horizontal beam 18 by the intervention of the member17 and also from the upright 15 the entire roof formation will not onlybe very strong, but will also be self-contained and adapted to be builtup independently of the furnace, upon which it may be placed aftercompletion and may readily be removed therefrom when required.

Suitable devices may be employed in connection with this furnace forstirringthe ore within the hearth A at predetermined periods, thesedevices consisting in the present instance of rabbles 21, adapted formovement through the hearth A longitudinally thereof and operated in theconstruction shown by an arm 22, projecting through the roof 12, whichfor this reason is provided with a slot 23, eX- tending the entirelength of the furnace and communicating with the interior of the hearthnear the lowest point of said arches, so that the heat in the hearth mayconcentrate near the upper portions of said roof and at a point remotefrom the lower opening of the slot 23. In this manner the liability ofthe escape of heat from the hearth through the slot will be reduced to aminimum, and inasmuch as the slot 23 is located near the junction of apair of adjacent arches the key member 20 above referred to is made intwo parts, each of which is secured to its particular cross-beam 16.

Means are provided whereby the slot 23 may be normally closed, so as toprevent gases and heat from rising and escaping from the hearth, suchmeans consisting of gates 24, pivoted, as at 25, on thelongitudinally-disposed bars 26 and adapted to be engaged and raised topermit the passage of the rabble-arm 22 by a cam-bar 27, secured to oneside of the rabble-arm 22, so that as said rabble-arm passes through theslot 23 the gates 24 will be successively operated to permit the passageof the arm 22, after which they will rcturn to their normal position.

The rabble-arm 22 is herein shown secured to a truck 28, the wheels ofwhich travel on rails 29, which are laid upon the upper sides of thecross-beams 16 or may be otherwise suspended from the girder 18, Whileguardrails, such as 30, may be disposed above the truck'wheels to insurethe proper operation of the device, said guard-rails being mounted onthe under side of the horizontal beams 1S, above referred to. The truck28 is provided with an extension 31, to which a suitable actuator may besecured for causing said truck to travel along on the tracks 29, thisactuator being herein shown as a cable 32, passing around suitablewheels 33 and 34, the latter of which serves as an idler, while theWheel 33 may constitute the driving member of the mechanism, both Wheels33 and 34 being mounted for rotation on suitable columns or standards40.

Any suitable means may be employed for imparting movement to the wheel33, the mechanism shown in the drawings comprising a belt-pulley 35,mounted upon a shaft 36, which is journaled in bearings 37 and carriesat one end a pinion 3S in engagement With gear-teeth 3), which areprovided on the upper surface of the Wheel 33.

When the truck 28 is about to' be turned in an arc around the axis ofthe wheels 33 and 34, the truck-wheels will leave the tracks 29, and thetrucks may then be guided in the proper manner by guard rails or fianges4l until said trucks are in position t-o again advance in a straightline.

By referring to Fig. 1, it will be seen that the movement of the trucksis such as to cause the rabble-arms to traverse the furnacelongitudinally and that when said rabbles have left the hearth they willreturn to their rentering point after passing around the outside of thefurnace, and will therefore be cooled down before again entering thefurnace.

In order more eectively to guard against the loss of heat and passageo1' the fumes through the slot 23, I provide incommunication with saidslot an air-supply conduit, shown herein as an air-box 42, extending theentire length of the furnace and so organized as to direct a draft ofair downwardly into the slot 23, so that all tendency for the heat torise through the slot may be counteracted by said draft, while, on theother hand, air may be supplied from this source to the interior of thehearth to any desired amount. The air is supplied to the box 42 througha series of pipes 43, connected with the main supply-pipe 44, and theair or other gaseous fluid may be heated as required before entering thefurnace.

It is evident that the construction of my improved furnace may be variedin many particulars from that shown and described Without departing fromthe spirit of my in- ICO IIO

vention, and Iwish it to be distinctly understood that I do not coninemyself -to the particular form of t-he several elements shown in theaccompanying drawings, as these lnodifications are obviously within thescope of my invention as claimed.

I-Iaving described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A roasting-furnace comprising a hearth, the roof of which is formedof sections which are separated from eachother by a slot disposedlongitudinally of said roof, and the adjacent portions of which aresubstantially in alinement with said slot and are nearer to the floor ofVthe hearth than the central portion of said sections. t

2. The combination with a hearth having two arches disposedlongitudinally of the roof thereof; a longitudinal opening through theroof between the said arches and adjacent to their inner lower edges; astirrer mechanism having an arm projecting through said opening; andmeans for moving said stirrer longitudinally through said hearth.

The combination, with a roasting-furnace comprising a hearth the roof ofwhich has a continuous longitudinal slot disposed lengthwise of thehearth; of means for forcing air through said slot into the hearth.

4. The combination, with a roasting-furnace comprising a hearth the roofof which has a longitudinal slot; of a longitudinallydisposedair-conduit I'adjacent to the slot for forcing air into said slot; andmeans for normally closing said slot.

5. The combination, with a roasting-furnace com prisin g a hearth, theroof of which is provided with a longitudinal slot; of a stirrermechanismhaving an arm projecting through said slot; means for movingsaid stirrermechanism longitudinally of the hearth; means for normallyclosing said slot, and operable to permit the passage of the stirrer-armthrough said slot; and an air-conduit disposed in parallelism with theslot for forcing air thereinto.

6. An ore-roasting furnace comprising a roof formed of a plurality ofsections which are separated from each other by an opening extendinglongitudinally of said roof; a sup'- porting member disposed above eachof the roof-sections; means for independently supporting each of saidroof-sections from said member; a girder for sustaining the supportingmember near the ends thereof; a stirrer mechanism having an armprojecting through said opening into the hearth; and means for movingsaid mechanism longitudinally of the hearth.

7. A roasting-furnace comprising a root` made in sections separated fromeach. other by a longitudinal slot; cross-beams disposed above saidsections; thrust members secured to said cross-beams andl forsupportingpthe roofsection; girders extending laterally across thefurnace; means for supporting the sectional cross-beams from thegirders; a stirrer mechanism having an arm projecting through said slotinto the hearth; and means for moving said mechanism longitudinally ofthe hearth.

S. An ore-roasting furnace comprising a roof composed of a plurality ofarches which are separated from each other by a slot VeX- tendinglongitudinally of the furnace; vI- beams disposed above each of saidsections; thrust members secured to said beams, for

independently supporting each of said sec' tions from said beams;girders extending laterally of the furnace; means for supporting theI-beams from the girders; means for supporting the girders near the endsthereof; a stirrer mechanism having an arm projecting through said slotinto the hearth; and means for moving said mechanism longitudinally ofthe hearth.

Signed at Hartford, Connecticut, this 5th day of July, 1901. A

WILLIAM A. LORENZ.

Witnesses:

N. PHOENIX, WM. H. HoNIss.

